Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-10

she could Young Wheeler was kept at
school until he was capable of teaching
country school, after which time he worked
his way on to higher education. After two
years in the university of Vermont, he
studied law for four years with Asa Hascall,
of Malone, and was admittel to the bar
Mr.. Wheeler was almost continually in
office Of a public or private nature from the
time he was Il law student until he left the
vice presidency on the 4th OF March, 1881.
While lie was studying law he was elected
town clerk at a salary of so year From
this Off e he was promoted to be school com
missioner and then to a school inspectorship
In 1S47 he was elected district attorney as
Wing on a union ticket which carried a
Democrat for county Judge, this arrange
ment being made at that time for the purpose
of keeping the judiciary of Franklin county
out of politics. At the close of his term as
district attorney he as elected a member Of
the assembly, in which body he served two
terms, 1S10-5l. In LS51 he was elected to the
state senate, serving in that body two years,
1859. Two years later, 1851, he went to
Washington as representative in the Thirty
seventh congress- At the close of one term
he retired to private life for four years, but
was then returned as member of the Forty
first congress, and thence on to March 4, 1877,
he was kept in the house.
Meantime Mr.. Wheeler was charged with
good many trusts of business, private and
semi public nature. In 1878 he was ap-
pointed one of the commissioners of the state
parks, commission which grew out OF the
Adirondack survey, and in 1876 he was APP
pointed by the governor as one of the COM
missioners of the state survey. In 1867 he
was elected as one of the delegates to the
ctat. tint oil II Cd
of 100 members, and Mr. Wheeler was chosen
president of it by a vote of 100 against 40 cast
for all other candidates His nearest COM
petitor was the late Henry c. Murphy, of
Brooklyn, who received only nine votes. The
next nearest was Amasa j. Parker of Albany
who received five vote. The large vote by
which Mr.. Wheeler elected was not
of party nature He presided over the
convention with marked success In 1851
owing to a chronic difficulty in his throat,
he gave up the practice of law. He was
thereupon selected TO be cashier of the Ma
lone bank, which position he held until 1865
While engaged in banking, in 1854, he was
made member of a board of trustees for
the management Of the then bankrupt North.
ern railroad, now the busy Ogdensburg and
Lake Chamilain road. When he entered the
board the bonds of the road We're kicked
about as worth only four cents on the dollar
The board elected him president in order to
concentrate the management of the road in
his hands. In the eleven years during which
he held this trust the bonds appreciated to
par, and were paid in full with considerable
interest. Mr. Wheeler himself did not have
cents worth of investment in the road he so
successfully managed. The business stimulus
of the civil war was, Of course, greatly to
the roads advantage While he was a menu
Der of congress the famous salary grab
act was passed without his aid or approval.
He took the additional salary that fell to
him, but Immediately he bought government
bonds with it, assigned them to the secretary
of the treasury, and, turning them over to
the latter, had them Cancelled. In this way
he put the money beyond possible reach of
himself or his heirs. In 1873, while chair
man of the committee on southern affairs,
he rendered noteworthy service as Il political
pacificator in Louisiana. He went to New
Orleans without particular authority from
congress, and remained there a month, Civ.
ing personal attention to affairs The plans
he had matured for adjusting the then seri-
ously complicated state of affairs in Louis.
lana were put into operation and were the
means of settling the troubles for the time
being at least.
tegrity brought him forward as a candidate
for the presidency in the Republican conven-
tion of 1876 at Cincinnati. Rutherford B.
Hayes was, however, nominated, and Mr..
Wheeler was made the candidate for vice
president. As president of the senate he dis
charged his duties satisfactorily. He was
not charmed by them himself, He was ac-
customed to greater responsibility in office,
and was sometimes impatient OF the dead
calm of vice presidents life
Mr.. Wheeler was thought TO be promising
candidate for senator in 1851 He be lieved
he had strong backing among the members
of the legislature from northern New York
but the combination that had been formed
for the support of Thomas c. Platt swept
Mr.. Wkeelers stays away before his friends
could accomplish anything valuable for HIM
After the canvass for senator al the beginning
of the legislative session of 1851 Mr.. Wheeler
disappeared from public thought as candi-
date for office. He lived quietly in his com
Portable home in Malone, taking interest
most of ali in charitable works among his
neighhors.